Gentile Christian Difference: Christian Saints Vatical Pope Benedict: Apostasy and homosexuality: Holy Spirit Evangelism. There are Gentiles who are not Christians who pose as Christians. For instance, during the Crusades there were scores of church people under the power of the church who called themselves "Christians" but they were not. They were merely church people who delighted in their power over others. In fact, these humans when hurting others were of Satan while calling themselves Christians. They were Gentiles calling themselves "Christians." They were frauds. They were hypocrites. True Christians would not have acted out what the killers and torturers did during the Crusades.
J. Grant Swank Jr. is a retired minister who writes both religious and political articles, publishing them in numerous places including Magic City Morning Star News in Maine USA. He also publishes on his own blog at jrantswank.jr.blogspot He is a prolific writer whose views, especially political ones, are not always appreciated by readers. Today I bring to you a collection of three recent articles related to the difference between a true Christian and a fake Christian.
R.P. BenDedek
The Difference between a Gentile and a Christian
by J. Grant Swank, Jr.
They say the Christians tortured during the Crusades. No. Gentiles did.
What is the difference between a Christian and a Gentile?
First, all humans are separated into two groups: Jews and Gentiles. A person is one or the other from birth.
Second, not all Gentiles are Christians. That's where the misunderstanding comes in. There are those who equate Gentile with Christian. They say that if one is not a Jew he is automatically a Christian. Not so.
Third, one is only a Christian by choice of conscience. A Christian is one who decides to follow Jesus and His commandments. Jesus said, "If you love me, keep my commandments."
The proof that one is a Christian is living out the commandments of Jesus. His commandments are summed up in two: love God with all one's being and love one's neighbor as one loves the self.
If a person says he's a Christian but does not live the Christian life, then he is a hypocrite. Jesus said that by our fruits we will be known. Look at the fruit on a person's life tree. Is it good or is it bad?
There are those who say that we are not to judge others. That is correct. However, Jesus did tell His disciples to analyze the fruit on another's tree to see if it is good or bad. If it is good according to Jesus' commandments, then that person is judged to be a Christian. If it is bad according to Jesus' expectations, then that person is judged to be a non-Christian.
I often get notes from persons telling me that I am judging others. These notes come when I write about sinners and sin. Then the supposed righteous note me that I am not to judge, as God has stated in the Bible. I then point out to them that I am not judging a soul to heaven or hell. Only God can do that. I am analyzing a life tree and discerning it to be good or bad. There is a huge difference between judging a soul to eternity and analyzing a life tree.
God gives Christians the right to discern others. For instance, the Apostle Paul carried out that responsibility in his letters to the churches. Therefore, a Christian is one who lives out the commandments of Jesus, that is, he tries with all his being to be like Jesus in every way. Not all Gentiles make that choice. Therefore, they are Gentiles but not Christians.
Fourth, there are Gentiles who are not Christians who pose as Christians. For instance, during the Crusades there were scores of church people under the power of the church who called themselves "Christians" but they were not. They were merely church people who delighted in their power over others.
In fact, these humans when hurting others were of Satan while calling themselves Christians. They were Gentiles calling themselves "Christians." They were frauds. They were hypocrites. True Christians would not have acted out what the killers and torturers did during the Crusades.
It is the same in other various periods of Church History. There were those Gentiles in the name of "Christian" who burnt humans at the stake and provided other forms of persecution. These were Satanists and not Christians, though they claimed to be the latter.
Summation:
A Christian may be Jew or Gentile. It does not matter in that regard. A Christian--Jew or Gentiles--is one who keeps Jesus' commandments---period. (Jewish Christians are often referred to as "Messianic Jews" or "Jews for Jesus.")
Who are Christian Saints?
by J. Grant Swank, Jr.
The AP release states:
"Pope Benedict XVI gave Catholics four news saints Sunday, bestowing the honor on a 19th century nun who struggled in the American frontier, a bishop who tended to the wounded during the Mexican Revolution and two Italian clergy who worked with the deaf.
"French-born Mother Theodore Guerin, known for her determination, established a college for women in Indiana the 1800s. She endured harsh conditions on the American frontier and resisted the objections of a local bishop in pursuing her dream of establishing Catholic education for pioneers."
And so forth.
When I read that data from the Vatican, I thought to myself: What does the Bible say about saints? The answer: saints are those who profess Christ as Lord of their lives. It is that simple a definition.
When the apostle Paul wrote letters to the churches around the Mediterranean, he frequently referred to them as "saints." Then he went on to castigate some in those congregations, while praising others. It is also interesting to note that soon after calling his readers "saints" he started to discipline some of them for matters deficient.
That brings out the biblical understanding that saints are those who are "still in process for Christ." In other words, saints have not arrived. Some, like most of us, are very much in process.
The upshot of this piece is that there is no such thing as "canonization of saints" in the Bible. There is no routine demanded by a church body and so forth. Instead, it is just the opposite. It is God alone by grace who claims mortals as His saints.
The New Testament is filled with references to "saints in Christ" and all of them are those who have put aside the call of sin for the divine beckoning to life in Christ.
When a child, I frequently heard those in our local church refer to saints who were in need of prayer. Or at other times there was thanksgiving expressed to God for His deliverance of saints from various troubles. Therefore, I grew up with "saints on my mind." They were also right there in the pews, alongside me.
From a youth I knew these saints were people like myself. They were believers who struggled daily against the temptations of this world in order to live the sanctified life in Jesus.
Therefore, when I came to have Catholic friends who took me with them to Mass, I came to realize that the Vatican had a totally different definition of "saint." With further theological study, I then came upon the steps needed to be called a "saint" according to Rome.
However, as I continued to delve into the matter from the Word of God, I realized that God had quite a different opinion of saints than Rome. Of course, it was the Word that convinced me that divine revelation was in truth where "it's at." After all, who can improve on the divine revelation? No one.
Consequently, I looked about me over years in the church to be so grateful to be counted in that number. None of us deserved the title but we all possessed it nevertheless. Why? Because Christ bestowed it upon us when we committed our lives to Him, praying for His mercy upon our repentant souls.
Saints we are -- in process.
And saints forever we will be in heaven.
Thank you, Jesus, for calling us into your holy sainthood. It is not what we ever deserved; but according to the Bible it is part of the personal salvation gift you presented us when we acknowledged you as Lord.
Biblical Christianity Attacks Apostasy Worldwide
by J. Grant Swank, Jr.
"Banners for revivals, sermons and blessings dot nearly every street in Lagos, a teeming flatland of tin-roof shanties and rain-streaked concrete high-rises. The churches carry names such as the Cherubim & Seraphim, the Mountain of Fire and Miracles, and the Full Gospel Business Men's Assembly of God."
While huge segments of Christendom go apostate by baptizing practicing homosexuality as divinely blessed, Christianity based upon the Bible as divine revelation not to be tampered with is flourishing in Africa.
While various denominations spread AIDS/HIV with the homosexual push, Christ as personal Lord and Sanctifier is preached and held to in Africa. No wonder then that the African Anglicans protest the Anglican Communion worldwide in the latter's defense of homosexual activity. With the archbishop of Canterbury waffling in his understanding of Christian ethics regarding homosexual practice, believers by the thousands leave his Communion for the scripturally sound churches.
"More than 300,000 people have come for the once-a-month, all-night revival, led by a preacher most simply call 'Daddy.' Given the standards of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, it's just an average turnout." according to AP's Brian Murphy.
The Holy Spirit moves where He is welcomed. In the Episcopal Church of America, Anglican congregations throughout the globe, Evangelical (excuse the misnomer ) Lutheran Church of America, United Church of Christ (Congregational), Unitarian Church, segments of the United Methodist Church, Presbyterian Church, and Mennonite Church, sodomy is being preached as biblically legitimate. The Holy Spirit then has been informed to leave those segments for the predominance of mortal-made religion in the name of the "Christian Church."
However, in Africa, the Holy Spirit is beseeched to defeat the unclean spirits and to ward off the apostasy so prevalent in theologically liberal churches elsewhere. The Holy Spirit then visits the imploring souls with His forgiveness and cleansing for a life of practical holiness.
In these worships God is revered as the sole author of eternal truth, the Bible is regarded as divinely revealed, Jesus is believed as deity incarnate, the Trinity is held to as an everlasting given, heaven and hell are taught and believed, salvation is by Jesus and miracles are evidenced to support the biblical preaching.
"Think big. Think very big. Then think bigger.
"This is the face of 21st-century Christianity: big, restless -- and African. There is no better symbol of it than the Redeemed Church and the insatiable ambitions of its guiding hand and pastor, the Rev. Enoch Adejare Adeboye. (He) leads the fastest-growing Christian movement from a continent that is rapidly putting its stamp on the faith around the world."
Yet it is not Africa alone that experiences such a scriptural revival. It's happening in Latin America and Asia. However, it is in Africa where the wave of the Holy Spirit's moving is particularly evident. He has honored the hearts of the genuinely soul seeking.
Instead of in-house denominational fighting over what is sin and what is not sin, the believers acknowledge orthodox faith as grounded upon the Word of God. In place of appointing mortal committees to decide what is forever truth, Christians confess the eternal verities. Instead of worshiping liturgy, aesthetics and denominational power plays, believers worship Christ Jesus as Master of their earthly and eternal destinies.
"Many theologians say the 'African century' of Christianity is under way.
"If so, then populous and English-speaking Nigeria is its spiritual homeland, and churches like Mr. Adeboye's are its vanguard. Its driven leadership, loose global oversight and staggering cash flow make up precisely the formula that so alarms many traditional denominations.
"What began as a living-room Bible study in 1952 is now a juggernaut -- a university, movie studio, satellite television and a wi-fi Internet provider. Now add to that millions of followers in more than 90 nations, including footholds in China and even Dallas.
"Recently, close to 1 million worshippers turned out during three days of sermons and healing. In a rare interview, Mr. Adeboye explained where he hopes to go from here - 'At least one member of the church in every household in the whole world.'"
Call it Pentecostal. Call it evangelical. Call it charismatic. Call it what you will. But call it basic, traditional, biblically-moored Christianity without mortal alteration and that's what is going on where the Holy Spirit is honored as the saving, sanctifying power to release humans from their sins unto new life in Christ.
"The broad Pentecostal/charismatic/evangelical family accounts for about a quarter of the world's nearly 2.2 billion Christians, according to the Center for the Study of Global Christianity in South Hamilton, Mass.
"Africans are further exerting their influence inside established churches. The worldwide Anglican Communion is being torn by advocacy of homosexual bishops and clergy and blessing of same-sex 'marriages,' and conservatives, led by Nigerian Archbishop Peter Akinola, are resisting these dramatic changes in faith and practice.
"'You want to see where Christianity is heading?' said Campbell Shittu Momoh, an author on Nigerian religious affairs. 'Come look at Nigeria. It's already here.'"
Many believe that we are living in the End Times, according to biblical prophecy. The Christ predictions stated in Matthew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21 are all around us as well as those stated in Ezekiel 36-39 regarding Israel. With that conclusion, such believers know that God will always have a righteous remnant. Today's remnant is within theologically liberal churches where orthodox believes still hold on despite their apostate "leadership." The remnant is also evident in such revivals as evidenced in Africa.
Could this remnant be what will stand against the killing cult, Islam? Is this biblical preaching and personal expanse of the Christ Spirit be the warfare needed to overcome Islam world rule, Muslim murderers global and the Koran-enhancing maiming?
"This religious hothouse has nurtured hundreds -- perhaps thousands -- of new churches among Nigeria's 61 million Christians. 'The church in Nigeria is very, very disciplined and focused,' said Dickson Adeyanju, the chief religion correspondent for the Guardian, the largest newspaper in Lagos. 'That sets them apart.'"
Is there hope for America to come upon such a reverence for the Holy Spirit?
"The Redeemed Church claims 5 million followers in Nigeria and 250,000 abroad. Mr. Adeboye has set a goal of 50 million -- roughly the size of the entire Assemblies of God fellowship (another, older Pentecostal group) around the world. In the United States, 7,000 people attended the Redeemed Church's annual conference last year in New York's Madison Square Garden."
In other words, America has now become the mission field. It has turned pagan, as has much of Europe. Therefore, these geographies will experience more of the missionary concern coming from such places as Africa.
"The old religious mainstays in Nigeria -- the Roman Catholics and Anglicans -- are overshadowed nearly 2 to 1, and Pentecostals and other evangelicals widen the gap year after year.
"Just a few minutes at an Adeboye service at his Redemption Camp campus in Lagos demonstrates why. Packed buses pour in all afternoon. Eve Akindabe, a 35-year-old seamstress who was raised as an Anglican, does some hemming work as she waits to worship. She's been giving a monthly tithe -- worth about $10 -- for five years.
"'Why did I join Daddy's church? Take a look around,' she says, waving her hands at the crowds. 'Daddy inspires. Daddy tell us Jesus is right here to help improve our lives. The Anglican church was all about, 'Don't do this, don't do that.' Daddy is all about possibilities and making breakthroughs. It deals with heaven, but also the here and now.'
"The demographic center of Christianity is located now near Timbuktu, Mali, in northwestern Africa, and drifting south each year."
But the most gripping gravesites I have ever come upon were underground. We were all caught up in the eerie glow that fenced us in to right and left. Yet more - the time frame of hundreds of hundreds of years past closed in upon our fancies.
I was so pleasantly surprised to hear Julia say that she found it rewarding to be near her husband, care for her husband, being home with him so that they could spend time together. In her response to Oprah Julia used the word "devotion." She said that she found the devotion in love for her husband was nourishing.
Presently, a guard came through the mechanized door. It slowly opened, hiding its thick frame inside the wall. Prisoners' names were called out. I recognized my friend's name. I could then get up, walk toward the door, and file in line for processing.
Today, what is it that you are dealing with by way of injustices and spite from others? What hurts are bombarding your character, your integrity? What people are plotting for your undoing?
Copyright 2013 is held by the nominated authors on this article page.
The Download book does not contain a section on Seder Olam
Definition: King's Calendar Chronological Research
The Premise: Between the 5th and 3rd centuries BCE (but continuing down to at least 104 BCE), Sectarian redactors transcribed the legitimate 'solar year' chronological records of Israel and Judah, into an artificial form, with listed years as each comprised of 12 months of 4 weeks of 7 days, or 336 days per year, thus creating a 13th artificial year where 12 solar years existed.
When the Synchronous Chronological Data provided in the Books of Kings and Chronicles for the Divided Kingdom Period are measured in years of 336 days, the synchronisms actually align. [Refer to Appendix 5. to see how it synchronises the Divided Kingdom Period]
About the KingsCalendar Publisher
R.P.BenDedek is the owner and Editor of KingsCalendar.com which was originally set up to publicize his research results into the Chronology of Ancient Israel. Those results were published under the title: 'The King's Calendar: The Secret of Qumran'.
Whilst there have been many attempts to solve the chronological riddle of the Bible's synchronisms of reigns of the kings of Israel and Judah and their synchronism with other Ancient Near Eastern Nations, no other research is based on a simple mathematical formula which could, if it is incorrect, be disproved easily. To date, no one has been able to dismiss the mathematical results of this research.
Free to air Academic articles set forth Apologetics for and results of his discovery of an "artificial chronological scheme" running through the Bible, Josephus, the Damascus Documents of the Dead Sea Scrolls, and Seder Olam Rabbah.
During the current economic downturn, this book has been drastically reduced in price but will eventually rise as the economy improves.
Check the Chapter Precis Page to see details of each chapter and to gain access to the Four Free to Air Chapters
R.P. BenDedek writes social commentaries and photographic 'Stories from China' both at KingsCalendar, and as a contributing columnist at Magic City Morning Star News in Maine USA.
(He has been teaching Conversational English in China since 2003 and currently (2013) is teaching in Suzhou City Jiangsu Province.)
1. Rehoboam : King of Judah : son of Solomon : 1 Kings 14:21 2. Abijah : King of Judah : son of Rehoboam : 1 Kings 15: 1 3. Asa : King of Judah : son of Abijah : 1 Kings 15:19 4. Jehoshaphat : King of Judah : son of Asa : 1 Kings 22:41 5. Jehoram : King of Judah : Son of Jehoshaphat : 2 Kings 8:16 6. Ahaziah : King of Judah : son of Jehoram of Judah : 2 Kings 9:29 7. Athaliah : Queen of Judah : Wife of Jehoram of Judah : usurper : 2 Kings 11:1 8. Joash : King of Judah : Son of Ahaziah of Judah : 2 Kings 12:1 9. Amaziah : King of Judah : son of Joash : 2 Kings 14:2 10. Uzziah : King of Judah : son of Amaziah : 2 Kings 15:1 11. Jotham : King of Judah : son of Uzziah : 2 Kings 15:30 / 2 Chron 26:21 / 2 Kings 15:32 12. Ahaz : King of Judah : son/brother of Jotham : 13. Hezekiah : King of Judah - brother of Ahaz 14. Manasseh : King of Judah : son of Hezekiah : 2 Kings 21:1 15. Amon : King of Judah : son of Manasseh : 2 Kings 21:19 16. Josiah : King of Judah : son of Amon : 2 Kings 21:1 17. Jehoahaz : King of Judah : son of Josiah : 18. Jehoiakim : King of Judah : son of Josiah : 2 Kings 23:36 19. Jehoiachin : King of Judah : son of Jehoiakim : 20. Zedekiah : King of Judah Kings of Israel
